Bernadette Jordan

[Business of Supply, November 24th, 2020]

Madam Chair, it is interesting that my hon. colleague brought up Atlantic salmon and the challenges they are facing with regard to habitat degradation. We have seen the same problems on the west coast with the wild Pacific salmon. Investing in coastal restoration is extremely important. The habitat for salmon, both on the west coast and the east coast, is critical to making sure that we are able to grow those populations of fish so that we have a future fishery. I have met with a number of anglers and salmon enthusiasts in Atlantic Canada about ways forward.

We are going to continue to work with those communities and organizations to find the best way to make sure that we are addressing the concerns around the decline of Atlantic salmon as well. This is a priority for our government. We know that no species should become extinct or endangered. We want to make sure we are doing everything we can do bring back those extremely important populations.

[Business of Supply, November 24th, 2020]

Madam Chair, the Atlantic fisheries fund is a real success story. It was so successful that we have actually expanded it to include Quebec and B.C. as well. This is a fund that is available for fishers and producers to innovate their businesses in order to scale up or do value-added. We know there is a huge market for our seafood products around the world. We want to make sure we are doing everything to we can to support the industry as we grow our fish and seafood sector.

COVID-19 took its toll on the industry, but I am very proud of the investments we made there as well with the seafood stabilization fund. We were able to provide money to processors who were able to better provide freezers and cold storage, which was a gap we had seen. We wanted to make sure that they had the ability to invest in PPE and all of the measures they needed in order to keep their workers safe during the pandemic.

We are going to continue to work with industry to make sure we are supporting them, so that our wonderful fish and seafood products can go around the world.

[Business of Supply, November 24th, 2020]

Madam Chair, with respect to the North Atlantic right whale, we have taken measures to make sure we protect this iconic species. I would like to say this was done in collaboration and co-operation with harvesters, environmental stakeholder groups and communities. Making sure we protect this species was important to all of us. We put some pretty stringent measures in place this year and I am happy to say there were no entanglements of right whales in Atlantic Canada. That was extremely beneficial. We know it has been a challenge for a number of our coastal fishermen, but this is something we have developed in collaboration with them. We are going to continue to work with them this year to see what happens and how we can best move forward addressing their concerns.

Making sure we are addressing the concerns around ghost gear is another big initiative we have put in place. There is far too much ghost gear in the ocean. We have put funding in place to collect that gear. We are working with our fishers to make sure that gear is retrieved so there will be no further entanglements. We are going to continue to work to make sure we protect the North Atlantic right whale.

[Business of Supply, November 24th, 2020]

Madam Chair, when it comes to marine-protected areas, we know the ones that are the most successful are the ones built from the ground up with the communities, making sure there is active engagement. The Eastern Shore Islands area of interest encompasses exceptional coastal habitats, home to a very diverse range of marine species. I remain committed to a broad and inclusive process focused on the conservation of this remarkable area.

Our next step is to meet with the commercial fishers and other community members on the eastern shore to discuss and carefully consider their priorities for the area. We are committed to continuing to work with local communities to effectively conserve this unique place for those who make their living there.

One of the reasons we need marine-protected areas is to make sure we have fishing for generations to come. This is not to stop fishing; this is to make sure it is sustainable for the long term.

[Business of Supply, November 24th, 2020]

Madam Chair, at DFO every decision we make is based on conservation. It is the number one priority. We want to make sure that the fishery is sustainable for the long term, for generations to come.

I will say that this is a goal shared by commercial harvesters as well as indigenous fishers. This is something that we all agree on. What we need to find is the path forward. I understand that, in coastal communities, our commercial harvesters are worried for their livelihoods.

We need to make sure that we are not increasing fishing efforts. That is one of the top priorities for me, as well as making sure that conservation objectives are met. These are tricky negotiations, as I have said. They are full of bumps along the way, but we are committed to making sure that we find the path forward to implement the moderate livelihood fishery, address the concerns of commercial harvesters, make sure conservation is the number one priority and that there is not an increased fishing effort.

[Business of Supply, November 24th, 2020]

Madam Chair, our government acknowledges the challenges being faced by Pacific salmon fishery participants, including recreational anglers. We are also carefully considering requests for a mark-selective hatchery-origin chinook and mark-selective fishery opportunities. Further consultations are planned to seek input on benefits and costs of these approaches as well as further discussions.

As I said earlier, this is not something I am averse to. It is something in which we want to make sure that we have the right path forward, and that is what we are working on.

[Business of Supply, November 24th, 2020]

Madam Chair, we welcome Oceana's fisheries audit, and we will be reviewing its recommendations, but our government has made several key investments that are already showing progress toward sustainable fisheries and strengthening our oceans' protections.

The department is continuing to complete rebuilding plans for priority stocks. Since 2018, DFO has completed rebuilding plans for six of these 19 stocks, and a further two have improved to the point that they are no longer in the critical zone. For the remaining priority stocks without rebuilding plans, DFO has specific fisheries management measures in place. These measures are going to ensure that the limited fishing of the stocks does not compromise the rebuilding.

We know that the fisheries rebuilding plans are important, and that is one of the reasons why we put them in the modernized Fisheries Act. We are going to continue to work to make sure that we are rebuilding stocks.

[Business of Supply, November 24th, 2020]

Madam Chair, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his intervention.

I know how hard this is. I know what a difficult situation it is with aquatic invasive species. We are working with our provincial and territorial counterparts to address the concern. We know that it is significant in some areas. We have been working on a number of initiatives, and we will continue to do that.

I will commit to making sure that we do everything possible to address the concern of aquatic invasive species. We have invested $43.8 million over five years to prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species, but we know that more needs to be done.

[Business of Supply, November 24th, 2020]

Madam Chair, as I said, the Prime Minister has put in my mandate letter the work to fight aquatic invasive species. We are working with our provincial and territorial counterparts to make sure that we address these challenges. I know that it is a difficult situation with these aquatic invasive species in our lakes, rivers and oceans. We need to do everything possible. This government is committed to making sure that we address the problem. We are continuing to do that work.

[Business of Supply, November 24th, 2020]

Madam Chair, as I said, we are continuing to work with our provincial and territorial counterparts. We recognize that aquatic invasive species are a real threat to our ecosystems. More has to be done. We are working diligently to make sure that we address the concern of these aquatic invasive species. This is hard work that we are committed to. I am going to make sure that we do the work necessary in order to address the concerns.